03 March 2005

Paul Rusesabagina visits Lewis & Clark College

On short notice, Holly was able to arrange for a teenager friend to watch Hannah so that we could attend a (rare) lecture by Mr. Paul Rusesabagina at Lewis & Clark College Flanagan Chapel. We arrived early, but there was already an enormous line of people waiting to be seated. Holly was able to squeeze us into a pair of seats that unexpectedly opened (I was parking the car - was she playing up her third trimester body habitus to some compassionate co-eds??).

Mr. Rusesabagina was welcomed to L&C by a standing ovation, to which he responded by introducing his wife Tatiana, who had accompanied him. When the applause melted away, he began recounting his personal, “behind-the-scenes” experience at the Mille Collines Hotel. I was surprised by how factual the movie actually was, although the film didn’t include his wife’s severe beating that fractured her back during a failed escape attempt.

He encouraged us to become publicly involved and active in helping with the current crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region. He said that, like how the West helped resolve South African apartheid, the West’s participation is desparately needed to help move the peace process forward. He urged us to write our congressional and executive leaders, to publicly demonstrate our concern and outrage, and support relief organizations financially. He wasn’t to condem the U.S. and the west for not being involved in Sudan yet but rather motivational instead.

In the Q&A session afterward, it was notable that several audience members kept pressing him to explain how living through that nightmare has changed his faith, his worldview, etc. For several questions, he was intentionally vague. Then, somewhat reluctantly, he explained he felt that God had always been present in Rwanda but that God had abandoned Rwanda in 1994. He elaborated further that he has lost hope in humanity in general (not necessarily individuals) and that he finds it very hard to trust people.

So, it was with heavy but enlivened hearts that Holly and I left the chapel. We enjoyed a long walk, through the beautiful campus, back to the car, earnestly talking, discussing, and chewing on what we had just heard all the while. What are we to do? We’ve agreed to start by writing our leaders (watch out David Wu!) and see where God leads us.

To learn more, or become involved, you can start by visiting these websites: